Muslim American Journalists Association

Islam has a strong and vibrant literary history that uses literary concepts as a means of enlightenment.  It is my wish to revive that tradition.  Since I am an American revert and the America’s has such a broad cultural representation it would only be natural that I focus on Muslim American literature.

I think that it is essential that Muslims living in the Americas have the means to pursue careers in the literary arts if that it how they are so inclined.  There are hundreds of journals and I recommend that writers submit their work to as many as possible because journal publication is usually how a writer is able to build credentials and a following.  It is also important for Muslim artists to be recognized and supported by their peers. 

The success of Adabiyate-American will create broader opportunities for writers of all forms giving them greater access to agents and publishing houses.  We are also featuring screenwriters and playwrites, which is almost unheard of in literary journals. 

I wanted a name that denoted the rich history of Islamic literature without being overly forward because I want [non-Muslim] people to pick up the journal without the expectations that might be placed on a journal with a name such as Muslim American Literature or some other direct name.  I wanted a name that would be intriguing to non-Muslims and meaningful to Muslims.  I played around with many different phrases but none in English could really convey the beauty that I was looking for.

A well known Persian legend that accomplished some of what I hope the journal will accomplish, and that is indirect reeducation, is that of Shahrazad the principle storyteller of the 1000 and 1 Nights fables.  Not able to satisfy myself with a suitable title and knowing that Shahrazad’s story must be a particular genre I began to research that genre and then researched phrases such as Muslim Literature and Islamic Literary forms, I discovered this beautiful word meaning literature but not just any literature. Literature defined by its adab or manners conveying respect to its readers, its authors, and its forms. 

From a business perspective, having a title with two A’s will put us on the top of the listings in the periodical directories. 

I have made overtures to some known talents but the usual focus of a journal is to showcase emerging talent and new works (usually works out of character) of known talents.  What you can expect to see is lively and engaging works from diverse voices.  Our publications panel is comprised of a group of very discerning readers.  We expect stories to move us; we want to learn something of substance from these works while being highly entertained.  From a literary view to be entertained is to be able to live a tale that will elicit all of its joy, angst and sorrow.  So you should expect to see a brilliant array of artistry.

Adabiyate- American is a subsidiary of Halal Development, LLC., which is a Missouri corporation.  I am the owner of Halal Development which is an umbrella corporation that manages my various literary interests which includes book, movie and theater reviews as well as proceeds from my work on various film and book projects.   

We are looking for sponsorship from various organizations and welcome support from interested parties.

We expect to have the first issue in circulation on September 1st, 2009.  There is a lot of work to do before the debut.  After that we will be on a quarterly publishing cycle.

The best way to get your hands on a copy of course is to subscribe.  Subscriptions will be 50.00 yearly.  You can also order a sample copy at 12.50 per issue.  Authors published in the journal receive a one-year subscription at no cost. 

I do want to stress that, like our authors, we need the support of the community.  Just to pay for the printing we need a subscription base of 1500.  In a smaller perspective that is only 30 per U.S. state.  Our team is working hard to gain subscribers from libraries but that usually happens once popularity is shown.  Subscribers can order the journal through its website or send us an email through the website to reserve a subscription.

Writers should go to www.adabiyate-american.synthasite.com and read our submission guidelines.

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